Dragon Rising is no doubt a flawed game. The multiplayer is a disappointment, and the game comes with its fair share of annoying technical problems. However, when you get through the nonsense and to the core of what Dragon Rising is, you will experience a brilliant game unlike any other. With its freedom of choice, its amazing sense of realism, and its awesome co-op function, Dragon Rising is a game that simply needs to be experienced, but I close with this word of warning. Dragon Rising is not a game for everyone, but if you give this game your time, patience, and love, you will get much more than what you bargained for.

Game Details			Loading Reality Scoring
Format	Xbox 360 (all 360 reviews)		Score Meaning: Very good. Most gamers, regardless of genre preference, will be able to look past small issues and enjoy the numerous positive qualities. If a "final score," the game is probably worth owning.
Publisher	Codemasters
Developer	Codemasters
Category	Shooter		Presentation
ESRB	M		Gameplay
Online Players	8		Graphics
Offline Players	1		Sound
Price	59.99		Value Factor
Release Date	October 6, 2009		Final Score

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

So many developers today claim that their games are the most realistic things on the market, and consumers believe them. The sad truth is that most of those games labeled "realistic" simply aren't. Take the Call of Duty franchise for instance. While that series is brimming with intense, jaw-dropping moments on the battlefield, it's just not truly realistic. Don't get me wrong: I love Call of Duty, but I've never played a first-person shooter that made me feel as if I really were in the heat of brutal combat. With the release of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Codemasters has successfully delivered a realistic experience unlike any other, and truthfully, it's probably the closest anyone will ever get to real war without actually being in it.

Ever since 2001, the Operation Flashpoint series has always had one primary objective in mind: deliver a realistic war experience to the player and make them understand what real soldiers go through. There have been several iterations in the series, and each have pushed the boundaries to create a realistic experience on the battlefield. These games have been generally well-received and have even garnered rewards for their sheer brilliance. With Dragon Rising, the same gameplay that made this series so enjoyable in the first place has been redesigned from the ground-up, and it comes with amazingly beautiful graphics to make the experience even more surreal.

Let's get down to the fat, juicy center already. Those new to the series are in for one hell of a surprise if they begin playing Dragon Rising with that Call of Duty or Halo mindset. Think you can sprint up the hill and to the radar emplacement while taking out the three PLA (People's Liberation Army) soldiers guarding it? If you do, I'm terribly afraid to inform you that you will end up seeing your corpse lying face-down after only eating just one bullet. Dragon Rising, like its predecessors, is not for the run-and-gun type of gamer; you will need patience, good strategy, and plenty of wit if you intend to fully enjoy Dragon Rising and make it out alive.

I'll be honest, I hated Dragon Rising when I first began playing it. In fact, this was the very first Operation Flashpoint title I've ever fully played, and since I've grown so used to the run-and-gun tactics that make up most of today's shooters, I didn't understand what I was supposed to do. For those expecting a tutorial level to get newbies into the "feel" of the game, you will find none. If you even want to enjoy Dragon Rising as it was intended to be, you're going to need to pay attention to text-heavy pop-ups that instruct you on what you should do and how you do things; you may even need to *sarcastic shudder* read the instruction booklet that comes with the game. Yes, this game requires you to read. I don't mind reading to get into the game, but we're in 2009, people. While it's only a minor issue, the developers definitely should have included a handy tutorial level for newbies.

Thankfully though, with a little practice and a little reading, run-and-gun players can be broken into strategic, disciplined soldiers. However, I can understand that this may, in fact, turn off certain gamers with a low attention span, but to be fair, Dragon Rising was meant for those willing to devote time and practice into this game. Once you do get the hang of things, Dragon Rising truly begins to shine, and the game will most definitely be rewarding for those who stay along for the ride.

In Dragon Rising, you're sent down into the fictional oil-heavy island of Skira and put in command of three other soldiers. Since strategy plays a major role in the game, you're going to need to command these boys wisely if you intend on fulfilling your objective. With the press of a few buttons, you can position your men to flank an enemy defense point, order them to target an enemy with suppressive fire, or simply order them to follow you. There are several commands you can use, and you'll need to really think and plan out your next move if you don't want to end up lying in a pool of your own blood. Surprisingly enough, the friendly A.I. is actually smart when commanded properly; on the contrary, if you don't know how to correctly command your soldiers, they'll be dead before you die, leaving you to fight alone, and trust me, in a game like Dragon Rising you DON'T want to fight alone.

With pretty smart A.I. on the American side, you're probably wondering about the enemy A.I. For the most part, the enemies are smart. Very smart. Hell, they can shoot off your head from a great distance if you're not careful. Now, here's the funny part. Sometimes, when you plan things out wisely and catch the enemy off their guard, they'll be dumber than a pack of toothpicks (which, in a sense, that analogy doesn't quite make any sense since toothpicks don't think, but stay with me here). For instance, you may catch one soldier off guard and sneak around him, and he may even be staring directly at you without doing a thing. However, when you begin shooting him, the "on" switch is flipped, and if you miss your shots, you can kiss the mission goodbye, as he'll most likely kill you without hesitation. Maybe the A.I. could have been more balanced, but for a game with such a grand scope, the A.I. is just fine.

Speaking of a grand scope, the island of Skira is amazing and can literally leave you breathless with its photo-realistic beauty. At some moments you will see mountains in a great distance as far as the eye can see, and if you travel across those mountains, you'll see forests and more mountains. You could literally run across the island for hours and never reach the other end of the island. Developer Codemasters did a tremendous job with the island's overall scope. However, some people may complain about how the island is just a drab, brownish-green forest, but it's perfectly understandable. Remember, this game is based around realism, so how would it make sense if the island was painted in rainbows?

To top it off, the day-and-night cycle shows off some pretty superb effects, and at some points, the sky had such a photo-realistic effect that I personally forgot that I was playing a game. Hell, even smoke looks beautiful. Yes, that's a very odd thing to say, but in Dragon Rising, the smoke actually looks real. The guns, of course, look as real as possible, since Dragon Rising is a shooter. However, that's where the beauty ends. Character models look robotic at times, and they're simply not as realistic as they could have been. Another thing that shouldn't have been in Dragon Rising was the pop-in in the environment. Yes, I did state in the last paragraph that the overall environment is amazing, but that doesn't rectify the fact that trees noticeably pop-in in front of you. Pop-in is something that should be left in the previous generation.

One of the biggest issues with Dragon Rising is the amount of technical problems. I've encountered audio glitches in the game when I loaded up a mission. These audio glitches consisted of words being spoken, but voices weren't heard. This is a big issue when the game revolves around communication with your men, so the only way to fix this problem was to turn off the game console and reboot the game. This is very irritating when you just want to jump into the game and have fun, but that's not all. Be aware of occasional game freeze-ups that will no doubt infuriate those who encounter them. Sometimes, the mission objectives can glitch and state that you've completed your objective even when you have not.

Another complaint I have is the robotic voice-work. There's hardly any emotion in the script, and lines occasionally repeat themselves for no reason at all. It's also unfortunate that there's absolutely no soundtrack at all. Yeah, there's one song that gets played during the menu screens, but during missions, you only hear yourself, your men, your allies, explosions, and bullets. The Call of Duty franchise has always excelled in this area by delivering epic orchestrated music at pivotal moments in the story, so it would have been nice to hear some music on the battlefield. Thankfully, though, guns sound amazing and too real, and explosions never fail to please the eyes as well as the ears.

Speaking of story, you may have noticed that I haven't said one word about Dragon Rising's story. That's because there hardly is a story. The conflict revolves around an island off the coast of Russia, and because the economy is in a grim state, China wants control of the island because there is a wealthy supply of oil beneath it. Since this is a flat-out invasion of Russia's property, and since Russia falls quickly to the People's Liberation Army, America gets involved and plans to end the conflict before it escalates into a war. The story never gets interesting since this game is not trying to be dramatic, nor does it need to be. All you need to know is that you're following orders and doing your best to end the conflict before it's too late.

However, it's a shame that the mission objectives don't vary much. Capture this base, hold out for 15 minutes here, rescue these poor saps, etc. Codemasters could have definitely done better with the mission structure, but I do applaud them for including several stealth missions that are undoubtedly the best missions in the game. Although the mission structure is bland, the greatest positive that Dragon Rising has is the ability to handle the primary objectives in any way you desire. Want to sneak behind enemy lines and completely ignore the "advised" route to take? Go ahead. Want to call in an artillery strike on a town to greatly shorten your mission? Do it. This freedom of choice aspect is what makes Dragon Rising a unique game, even when there are so many other military shooters on the market.

Regrettably, multiplayer isn't what it could have been. PC gamers can play in 16-on-16 matches, while console gamers can only play in 4-on-4 matches. The map selection is pretty poor, and to make matters worse, there is no dedicated server support. For a modern-day shooter, this is a terrible disappointment. Thankfully, you can skip the lacking multiplayer mode and jump right into what Dragon Rising does so well: co-op. Instead of ordering soulless bots around, you can grab three friends and play the campaign. The best part is that if you all use wit and cunning strategy, your team will become nearly unstoppable. Co-op is also the best way to play the ball-busting Hardcore difficulty, which completely disables your HUD and removes the ability to respawn via mid-mission checkpoints.

4 / 5

Written by :

Axe Argonian

 

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Ethan

Game Review: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Oct 16 2009 02:56:50 Great review, Axe! I'm not personally too interested in Dragon Rising, but really good review. The only problem I noticed was a small, minor typo. You mentioned that Ego developed the game in two sentences, but at the top, you say Codemasters developed it. Ego is actually a game engine, but it's just a small, minor mistake. Keep up the good work!

#13573

Axe Argonian

Game Review: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Oct 16 2009 13:23:07 Oh, I must have overlooked those typos when I wrote it originally. Sorry for that.

#13578